If the Red Stocking fits…

The volunteers who run a longstanding but rather obscure Henry charity called the Red STock Fund insist on operating in closely guarded anonymity because they don’t want to get phone calls in the middle of the night.

This is the first entry in a new blog on people and events in Marshall, Putnam, and Stark Counties. "The Northern Circuit" is the phrase that judges in the Peoria-based 10th Judicial District use to refer to that area. Gary L. Smith is a longtime Journal Star contributor who regularly covers those counties.

The volunteers who run a longstanding but rather obscure Henry charity called the Red Stocking Fund insist on operating in closely guarded anonymity because they don’t want to get phone calls in the middle of the night.

That was the explanation offered by a longtime Henry resident and self-described spokesman for the group, Bill Greek, in a recent letter to the editor of the weekly Henry News-Republican.

Greek had previously left a Journal Star reporter a Sunday morning telephone message stating that the paper had “done a great injustice to this town” by reporting on an episode in which a family new to Henry had been denied the requested Christmas assistance of a food basket and toys for children. When called back later, he refused to explain that or otherwise comment beyond a general statement praising the group.

“I have been the spokesman for years, and I can assure you that they are quality people,” Greek said.

But in a lengthy letter to the local paper a few days later, partly continuing his attack on the Journal Star, Greek also offered a few words of explanation about the anonymity.

“For 40 years they have remained anonymous because of telephone calls at 1 and 2 a.m. and a few at 5 a.m.,” he wrote.

The operation wasn’t always anonymous, according to archives of the News-Republican. An article reporting the founding of the fund in Dec. 1965 under the auspices of the Henry American Legion and its Auxiliary listed several different people involved, as well as the five initial donors.

“One of those offering encouragement for the establishment of a Red StockingFund in Henry is Mrs. Edward Greiner of Saratoga Township, west of Henry, who wrote a letter on the subject a few days ago, and who made the first donation of $10,” the paper noted.

So as it happened, the denial of assistance to newcomers Lisa and Donald Tucker and their three grandchildren actually brought the fund full circle to its origins. Linda Greiner of Chillicothe, a daughter-in-law of the late Mrs. Edward Greiner, helped lead a separate effort to get assistance for the family.

“People were very generous,” Greiner observed.

That was also emphasized by Lisa Tucker. The generosity of strangers had provided far more assistance than inclusion in the Red Stocking fund would have, and the family was then able to pass some of that along to others.

“I’ve been able to help two other families, and also some children in our church,” she said.

In a later follow-up phone call, Greek was asked how the charity had reached the conclusion that – according to his published letter – the Tucker family had no children registered in the local school district. Lisa Tucker herself noted that the one school-age child had been temporarily kept in Chillicothe for continuity of special education services, but school records are generally required to be confidential.

“We have enough teachers and enough people involved that know the families,” Greek replied.

Greek was also asked about the failure of the fund to respond to the family’s original request. Only after learning that other families had received letters confirming assistance, and only after contacting a local pastor who had suggested the application in the first place, did Lisa Tucker learn that the family had been denied, she said.

“We’re working on standards to make the areas of eligibility more clear,” said Greek, who refused to elaborate. But the principle of anonymity, with communication to be conducted only through a Post Office box, will remain, he emphasized.

Author: Gary L. Smith

Gary L. Smith is a free-lance writer who has contributed regularly to the Journal Star since 1993. He reports primarily on events in Marshall, Putnam, and Stark Counties, and the name of this blog is derived from the way that judges in the Peoria-based 10th Judicial District refer to that area.
View all posts by Gary L. Smith